


Getting Around Town

by biscuitsandgravy



Category: Free!
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Gen, Meetweird AU, cameos from Rei/Rin/Nagisa
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-29
Updated: 2015-03-29
Packaged: 2018-03-20 03:34:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,190
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3635076
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/biscuitsandgravy/pseuds/biscuitsandgravy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Makoto and Haruka ride the same bus every day. When Makoto starts to fall asleep, Haru wakes him up in time for his stop. (Meet-weird AU prompt from Tumblr.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Getting Around Town

**Rei** : Will you be able to return for regionals? (16:35)

 

**Rei** : The team would love to see their former captain! (16:35)

 

**Makoto** : I believe I can (16:36)

 

**Makoto** : I can’t wait to see how the team is doing with their new captain! :) (16:37)

 

Makoto looked up from his phone after sending his last message. The afternoon sun was beating down, and Makoto shielded his eyes as he looked to see if the bus was approaching yet. He wished he had sunglasses. 

 

So far, no bus. Makoto rubbed his eyes- something about the Tokyo air irritated his eyes; he’d probably going to have to switch to glasses until he adjusts. Just one of the many things he was getting used to about the new city. Another thing was that he was never alone- back in Iwatobi, whenever he would ride the train he would usually be waiting by himself (unless Rei or Rin joined him). Definitely not the case here- Makoto surreptitiously looked around and saw a crowd consisting of some high school students, businessmen, parents with their children, and just a few people his age.

 

When the bus pulled up, Makoto and most of the others stepped back so that the parents toting small children could get preferred seats. Makoto was a little surprised to see another man around his age board without waiting. _He must be from the city_ , Makoto thought. 

 

Surprisingly, the bus wasn’t packed- it wasn’t quite peak hours yet, so Makoto managed to grab a seat near the back door. The same young man he noticed earlier was sitting across from him and a few seats over. He had smooth black hair and seemed completely uninterested in everything going on around him. His eyes flicked in Makoto’s direction once as the bus began moving and Makoto gave him a cursory smile, but the other man was already staring determinedly at his knees.

 

Makoto was tired after his first real day of university, but he tried to stay alert so that he wouldn’t miss his stop. He even resisted getting out his phone again; he didn’t want any distractions. When he told his friends about his intent to go to university in Tokyo, Rin oh-so-helpfully decided to tell him the story of a student who had fallen asleep on a bus and had awoken in the abandoned bus depot (which was severely haunted) and the student had predictably been eaten alive by ghosts and demons and ghost demons _at the same time_ (Makoto wasn’t sure it was an actual urban legend, but Rin was a good storyteller and he had been more spooked than he’d care to admit).

 

As the bus went through its route, Makoto carefully studied the map on the wall to check that he was really riding the correct line (he was) and that this bus would actually go to the stop near his apartment (it did). _Five stops…four stops…three stops…_ Makoto counted in his head to keep himself occupied. When the bus finally arrived at his stop, Makoto stood up and _definitely did not_ bump his head on the door frame as he stepped onto the street.

 

The man from earlier was among the passengers to disembark at Makoto’s same stop. As they both waited for the door to open, their eyes met and Makoto couldn’t help but notice that his eyes were so incredibly _blue_. The stranger’s brow furrowed and Makoto looked away quickly, embarrassed that he had been blatantly staring at a stranger.

 

Makoto headed down the sidewalk towards his apartment (the stranger going across the street) and wondered if he’d ever be on the same bus as any of these people again.

 

***

 

Rei would have said it was a statistical improbability: with the sheer number of people living in Tokoy and considering how many more people commute there during the weekdays, it would be highly unlikely for the same two people to meet on public transportation without having arranged it beforehand (Makoto could almost hear Rei’s voice saying this, although Rei would have known the exact statistics). But somehow, Makoto kept encountering the same blue-eyed man on the bus back home every afternoon.

 

Even though the two sat in different seats each day, Makoto could count on seeing The Stranger board right before him and glance his way briefly before staring blankly at his knees for the duration of the ride. 

 

Little by little, Makoto managed to piece together details about The Stranger: he had smooth hands with a few slight callouses on his index finger and thumb- maybe he was an artist. One day, he wore a messenger bag with a small cat keychain, so Makoto guessed he liked animals (something that made Makoto want to introduce himself for a fleeting moment). He had an athletic build and he smelled like chlorine (which Makoto discovered by accident one day that they both ended up standing near each other on the bus), so he must be a swimmer (again, Makoto considered saying something, but held back for fear of sounding weird).

 

Makoto didn’t know why he was so interested in someone else’s life, especially when they hadn’t even met. Maybe because he missed his friends back home; he combined Rin’s independence and Rei’s dedication onto this man and somehow, that made him feel a little less homesick.

 

***

 

About a month into university, Makoto finally started to feel more comfortable in the city. He no longer bothered with his contacts and had switched to glasses permanently (last time he video chatted with his family, his mom joked that his glasses made him look like a true college student). He was also no longer afraid of ending up at the haunted bus depot, and no longer felt the need to double- and triple-check the map every time he rode the bus.

 

And after enough days of riding the bus to and from school, he finally stopped fearing the ghost demons at the Severely Haunted Bus Depot. Makoto began to feel more at ease, and on days where he was especially tired, he felt comfortable closing his eyes while he listened for the announcement of his stop.

 

On one such day, however, something unusual happened.

 

Makoto had been up late the night before- Rin had a night off of his training and they had managed a three-way video call with Rei, but after Rei signed off at a reasonable hour Rin insisted that he and Makoto watch a movie together. He was always glad for a chance to catch up with his friends, but at the moment he was just glad it was time to go home. It was too bumpy  on the bus for Makoto to really fall asleep, but he closed his eyes. Makoto was sitting against the rail next to the door, and The Stranger was across the aisle and two seats down. Like always, the other man glanced Makoto’s way before shifting his gaze towards the floor. Makoto leaned back so that his head was tilted towards the ceiling.

 

When the automated voice announced Makoto’s stop, he didn’t get up right away. He intended to wait until the bus stopped completely to stand up, that way he wouldn’t have to worry about getting in the way of anyone in more of a hurry than him.

 

Before he had the chance, he distinctly felt someone step on his foot. 

 

Makoto sat up right away, reflexively clearing his feet out of the aisle. But even though he had big feet, he was always careful to keep them out of the aisle. This couldn’t have been an accident.

 

“Sorry,” Makoto muttered out of habit, even though he knew it hadn’t been his fault. But when he looked around, no one seemed to have reacted to stepping on a stranger’s foot or his apology. 

 

That’s when he noticed that The Stranger had gotten up, and was currently standing with his hand on the rail right next to Makoto. He was staring intently out the window, but no one else was nearby.

 

Had a complete stranger really just stepped on Makoto’s foot? On purpose? Without apologizing?

 

Confused, Makoto exited and began to head down the street to his apartment. This time, Makoto was sure that the blue-eyed man looked at him for several seconds before crossing the street like always.

 

***

 

One time could have been an accident, but a week later, something similar happened. The next time, Makoto really did doze off after he sat down- he’d forgotten his coffee that morning and was exhausted by the afternoon. It felt like he had only been sitting down for a minute, but he was jerked awake by a messenger bag bumping his shoulder. Again, the blue-eyed man was standing close to Makoto, with no one else nearby. He was standing stiffly, not acknowledging that he had bumped into someone without apologizing.

 

This could not have been an accident. And Makoto knew that the first time hadn’t been an accident, either.

 

***

 

Incidents like that continued, roughly once a week (or whenever Makoto had been up late the night before). One day, Makoto dozed off with his head dipping onto his chest- and was elbowed on the top of the head.

 

Another time, when Makoto had leaned his head against the window and closed his eyes, there was a suspiciously lough cough to his left. A minute later, the bus jerked to a stop at Makoto’s station.

 

After the fifth time, it dawned on Makoto that all of those bumps occurred as the other man was getting up for his stop - _their stop_ \- and that if it hadn’t been for those bumps, there was more than one time when Makoto would have missed his stop.

 

Was this man hitting and stepping on Makoto intentionally, so that he would wake up in time for his stop?

 

***

 

Later that week, the man dropped his messenger bag as he sat down. A stuffed penguin fell out, and Makoto couldn’t help but notice that it had a note tied to it that said “Good luck, Haru-chan!” Makoto could only assume that it had been given to him as a gift (since The Stranger didn’t seem like the type to buy a stuffed animal for any reason).

 

So that meant his name must be Haru. 

 

A man with a feminine name- another thing they had in common.

 

***

 

Makoto managed to not fall asleep on the bus again until autumn. The chill had surprised him one morning, and he hadn’t brought a jacket. Now, Makoto could feel a cold coming on: he had a headache, chills (even though the scarf his mom had sent him), and was tired. All day, he felt like he was listening to his lecturers underwater. He couldn’t focus, so it was a blessing when the day finally ended and he headed to the bus stop. The wind blew while he waited at the bus stop and he couldn’t help shivering.

 

After a particularly violent tremor, he noticed that Haru had arrived and was staring at him. _Not subtle at all_ , Makoto thought. He made eye contact and attempted a smile, though it might not have been effective, considering his pale face and watery eyes.

 

Makoto picked a seat as close as possible to the door and plopped down heavily; he didn’t even have a chance to see where Haru sat. As tired as he felt, Makoto was half-asleep before the bus even started moving. His head lolled on his shoulder and he was aware that he kept making weird snoring noises. Had he been in a better state of mind, he would have apologized to the poor soul sitting next to him but instead he chose to stew in his own misery on the bumpy bus.

 

After what could have been either six seconds or ten hours, Makoto heard the speaker announce that his stop was the next one. Sighing, Makoto prepared himself for his head to be bumped or his shin to be kicked. Instead, he felt a hand on his right shoulder, gently shaking. He opened his eyes and turned to look at who could possibly shaking him.

 

It was Haru. Haru didn’t say anything, but gathered his things and stood up as soon as he was sure Makoto was awake. When Haru left the bus, Makoto followed.

 

“Wait,” he called to the other man, who was already turning to cross the street. Haru paused, but didn’t turn around. “Um…thank you,” Makoto stuttered.

 

This time, Haru turned to face him. He didn’t speak, but cocked an eyebrow in a skeptical way.

 

“Uh, I meant…for waking me up. Thank you,” Makoto said. Haru’s expression didn’t change, but he turned around to walk away. Makoto was sure that he had somehow offended Haru (or maybe he was speaking some unknown language, for how feverish he felt).

 

Just when Makoto was sure that this was one of the most embarrassing moments of his life, he heard a voice over the noise of the street.

 

“Don’t fall asleep on the bus,” Haru called as he slowly walked away. “You’ll miss your stop.”


End file.
